Order of the Stone
by Stargazing Writer
Summary: Novelization of Episode 1, Season 1 What started as a normal day for Jesse and her friends, ended up the greatest adventure of their lives! Follow the gang in this story, the beginning of it all...
1. Chapter 1: New kid on the block

**_Author's Note: Hello there, and welcome in my novelization of Episode 1 of Minecraft Story Mode! It's the only episode I've played really XD._** **_So, this will be according to my latest playthrough, that follows a slightly more daring Jesse. Also, I will be using Female Jesse (you saw that coming, didn't you?), Variant 2._****_Some lines are most definitely wrong, because I don't remember what they exactly said, but feel free to correct me, so that I fix it._** **_So, I hope you enjoy this novelization of Episode 1!_**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_"Nothing built can last forever. And every legend, no matter how great, fades with time. With each passing year, more and more details are lost, until all that remains is myths, half-truths. To put it simply – lies._

_"And yet, in all the known universe, between here and the Far Lands, the legend of the Order of the Stone endures, unabridged, as self-evident fact.__"Indeed, it was only a troubled land in need for heroes, and ours was fortunate to have so long ago, four heroes such as these:_

_"Gabriel the Warrior, before whose sword all combatants would tremble · Ellegaard the Redstone Engineer, whose machines would spark an era of invention · Magnus the Rogue, who used his destructive creativity for the benefit of all · and Soren the Architect, Builder of Worlds and leader of the Order of the Stone._

_"These four members, four friends, would give so much to earn their rightful place as four heroes. Their most dangerous quest would take them to , to fight a mysterious creature known as the Ender Dragon._

_"In the end, the Order of the Stone emerged victorious, and like that, they slipped away into the pages of legend..._

_"But when one story ends, another one begins."_

* * *

A quiet morning in the forest of Beacon Town. Birds are chirping... Bees buzz, flying from flower to flower...

"Hi-yah!"

Nope. This morning isn't quiet at all.

Somewhere in the mixed forest of oaks and birches, a tree stood out from the others, as it was supporting a fairly big treehouse on top of it. In it lived it's busy occupants, two girls.

The one was pacing through the small room, carrying redstone supplies and fitting them in a system she had made herself. She was dark skinned, dressed mostly in red and a green aviator cap with goggles on it, that covered her curly, dark brown hair. She had stopped to look at her friend at the other side of the room.

Said friend was fighting it out with a armor stand, her weapon being a shabby wooden sword. She had tanned skin, brown hair and eyes. Her outfit was what one would describe as dorky. White and teal shirt covered by a yellow overalls.

The aforementioned girl paced around the room again, deciding to break the relative silence between them.

"Which would you rather fight? One hundred chicken sized zombies? or ten zombie sized chickens? Just to be clear, you wouldn't have any weapons or armor."

Where Olivia thought that her question went unnoticed, a response did come, nearly taking her by surprise.

"I'd have to go with the giant chickens. Not because I want to, or because I think it would be easy, but because they would be an abomination.", Jesse said casually, stopping to wave her sword around as she spoke.

"Imagine their giant feet.", Olivia emphasized, moving her arms in a gesture that showed just how big supposed chickens would be.

"As I said, an abomination."

Raising a brow, the other dropped the conversation, and focused on her redstone circuit.

"Soo, I got a light sensor on the roof, and if I did this right the lights should turn on once it gets dark.", Olivia said, getting a hum from Jesse. "I don't want Reuben to be left with nothing while we're at EnderCon."

Jesse ceased beating the armor stand and turned to face her friend. Sheathing the sword, she paced towards her.

"He's coming with us.", she said matter-of-factly, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Really?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course he is!"

As Jesse turned her back to the stand, a chubby pig with a dark patch on his back made his presence known, pushing the it towards her. His expression seemed to be one like a bright grin.

"I'm not saying he shouldn't come. I'm not!", Olivia said, raising her hands defensively. Reuben, getting what she wanted to say with that, 'frowned' and walked away dignantly, head raised. "Just... Don't you think it's a little weird that you take him with you wherever you go?"

"It's not weird at all. Reuben is the best pet I could ask for. Obedient, loyal and always happy to see me at the end of a long day.". Noticing Reuben's annoyed expression, she corrected herself. "'Friend'. I should've said friend, not pet."

Olivia sighed. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm glad he's coming. I just don't want to give people another reason to call us losers. I'm tired of being a laughing stock.", she said turning her back to Jesse.

"Who cares what other people think?"

"I know. It's just... It wears you down.", she replied, hunching down.

"You say you're not a loser, Olivia. So win."

"Ok. Fine.", a smile had crept on Olivia's features, her friend's words encouraging her, even in the slightest.

Suddenly, the hissing sound of a creeper filled the air.

"_Sssss_..."

"Did you hear that?", Jesse said in a low voice, nearing the trapdoor of the treehouse.

"Oh no...", Olivia muttered, backing away just one step.

The trapdoor burst open, a figure wearing a creeper mask barging in, making a obviously not-creeper sound. The two girls screamed in terror, and Reuben, who had perched on a chest, fell on the floor screeching.

The mystery person, entered the room, laughing nasally in pure amusement, putting out the mask. He was pretty bulky and tall, with black hair. His green coat and outfit, fit the whole creeper joke. Even when two, no, three glares fell on him, he kept laughing.

"Oh man! You guys totally freaked out! That was awes-"

He didn't make it to complete his sentence, as a angry Reuben charged into his chest, making him stumble back.

"Axel, what's the matter with you?", Olivia scolded him, placing her hands on her hips.

Axel ignored her, staring at a small, barely visible stain of saliva on his coat. "Great. Now I'm going to smell like a pig at EnderCon.", he grumbled.

"That's what you get, Axel.", Jesse said, a small smirk crossing her face.

"I brought you good times and now I'm being punished for it?"

"You scared us half to death!"

"Nothing is fun if you're not scared half to death."

Remembering something once Axel was there, Olivia spoke up, interrupting the argument.

"Did you bring the fireworks?"

"Of course I did. I even brought something for the little guy.", Axel said pulling out two parts of a costume. He first put a black harness sporting wings, and then a Ender Dragon mask over Reuben, who at first shook his head in response to the sudden weight on him. The pig then ran around the room, jumping on the furniture and squealing.

"Nice!", Jesse grinned.

"You brought Reuben a disguise?", Olivia asked incredulously.

"We're going to a convention. _Some_body's got to wear a costume."

"He looks awesome!", Jesse said, seeing how happy Reuben is.

"It took me only a few million hour to build this."

"Alright, alright."

"You definitely brought the fireworks, right?", Olivia asked again.

"Yes. I'm ready, waiting on you guys.", he said, he said heading for the trapdoor. Before descenting, he looked over to Jesse. "Hurry up and grab your stuff."

Olivia followed suit. "We'll meet you downstairs, alright?"

"Alright."

As they left, Jesse looked through the chests, picking out shears and a set of flint and steel. Any other things looked unnecessary for what the group had agreed to build, and plus, she didn't want to fill her inventory with stuff she didn't need.

Jesse kneeled next to Reuben, patting his head. "Give me a dragon roar, Reuben."

The sound that came out was more like a zombie pigman with a sore throat, rather than the roar of a mighty dragon. She pulled a face. "That will do, Reuben. That will do."

Making her way towards the trapdoor, Reuben made a few rounds around Jesse, her watching him in amusement. When she had enough, she scooped the pig up and climbed down the treehouse.

There she found Axel and Olivia waiting. They smiled at the sight of their friend.

"Got everything we need?", Olivia asked.

"Yes."

"Let's roll!", Axel said.

"Yeah, dude. _Roll_.", Olivia smirked.

"Let's go!", Jesse said eagerly, pointing to the direction of Beacon Town.

The four friends walked through the woods, discussing on the event of the year, the infamous EnderCon.

"I heard a juicy rumour about this year's building competition, but you guys have to promise not to say anything.", Axel told his friends.

"Okay.", Jesse said.

"Also, the rumour is in two parts, each more exciting than the other."

"Spit it out, Axel."

"The special guest of this year's EnderCon, is no other than Gabriel the Warrior him-freaking-self!"

"Woah!", Jesse said amazed. "What's part two?"

"According to my sources, the winner of the building competition is going to get to meet him!"

The two girls stared at Axel with their mouths agape.

"Meeting Gabriel would be a dream and a honour.", Jesse said, a grin on her face.

"Yes, he is awesome!", Olivia said.

"Well, Reuben better be careful in that costume, because the last time Gabriel saw a dragon it didn't _end_ well."

The more they proceeded, the more something felt off to Olivia. She looked around the trees and looked at Axel quizzically.

"So... This source of yours makes posters for a living?"

"Huh?", he did, looking around. Posters with amulets and Gabriel on them were hung everywhere. Axel rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Uh, my source doesn't, uh exist. You guys are my only friends.", he said sheepishly.

"Guys, let's stay focused! We have a competition to win!", Jesse said.

"We never win. And this year we have Reuben with us.", Olivia countered.

"Faith, Olivia.", the other girl said calmly.

"Wha?"

"A slice, a portion, a sliver. Just a little faith. Also I'm hungry!... To win. To win."

"No, I'm with that.", Axel said.

Jesse shook her head. "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. We're thinking about this _all_ wrong. The point of the building competition isn't just to do something. It is to do something to get noticed by the judges!", she said, stopping to face her companions.

"Ok, then. So how do we do it?", Olivia said, placing her hands on her hips.

"We don't just build something functional. We build something _fun_! After we finish the fireworks machine as we planned, we can build something cool on top of it."

"You might be up to something."

"If you want to get reaction out of the judges, you build something scary.", Axel made a guess. "So I say we build a creeper."

"Wouldn't an enderman be better? I'm more scared of endermen than creepers."

"Well, both have their moments."

Jesse thought about it for a few moments. Both monsters were scary, but an enderman was scary only if you dared to look at it in the eyes, let alone it is bit of a rare sight. Not that it mattered... Besides, they were going to build a fireworks dispenser. Creepers exploded, so the choice was obvious.

"Alright. Let's build a creeper."

"We're going with Axel's idea?", Olivia said, a hint of complaint in her voice.

"What is wrong with my idea?", Axel crossed his arms.

"Nothing, it could be totally cool."

"It is cool."

"I think it's first time we've decided on what to build before getting to the competition. Do you think we have everything we need?"

"It wouldn't hurt to grab a little more...", Jesse said.

"Let's get to grabbin' then!", Axel exclaimed.

"We are so prepared. We can't lose! Cannot. Bring it in!"

The group placed their hands on each other's, even Reuben joining the gesture.

"Dare to prepare on three. No. Preparing is daring. No, that's the same thing. Forget it. Team on three. One, two, three..."

"Team!", the friends shouted in unison, and one by one, parted ways.

* * *

After around an hour of intensive training and gathering resources, the team gathered again, and made their way to EnderCon.

"We know what we're building, we have all the stuff for it, we are so ready for it.", Axel said.

"This year will be different. I'm not just ready to build, I'm ready to win.", Olivia continued.

Jesse was going to take her turn in this streak of self-confidence, but someone ruined it for them.

"Nice pig. Losers.", a random guy said while passing by.

Embarrassment crossed Jesse's features, while her friends glared daggers at him.

And as if things weren't bad already, one more unwelcoming thing crossed their paths. At the sign-ups were standing another group, but not just any group...

"Great... There's Lukas and the Ocelots. The rivalry continues.", Axel commented, his displeasure evident in his voice.

"Man, they got matching leather jackets and everything.", Olivia said.

"So cool..."

As if on queue, one of them turns around and notices the four of them. He had brown, carefully combed hair, green eyes and the black leather jacket, sporting a ocelot on the back, logo of their team.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Order of the Losers."

"Great, the fail squad's here.", a girl with light brown hair and blue eyes said, her tone full of sarcasm.

"Lukas, get a load of these losers!", another with dark brown hair and eyes and a beard told to get their leader's attention.

Said leader had just finished the sign-up of the team, and noticed them too. He was blonde, with blue eyes (and a relatively long nose). Surprisingly, he didn't make any mockery and just motioned for the team to move on. "Let's go guys."

With the Ocelots entering the building area, Jesse and her friends went for the sign-up. A woman with black hair, dark skin and green eyes, wearing glasses and black robes greeted them.

"Team name?"

"Axel, and a how do you do?", the biggest of the group stepped up.

"Uhm, no, your team name."

"Team name?... We're _not _ready for this."

"So much for losing anonymously.", Olivia muttered.

After a few silent moments, Jesse spelled the first name that came to mind. "We're the... The Dead Enders."

"Whoah. That sounds like a name for pirates.", Axel said, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's cool.", Olivia responded.

"Alright, Dead Enders, you guys are in Booth 5!", the woman said, with the smile never leaving her face.

Axel went to pass through the gates, but his huge frame prevented him from doing so. He held onto the fences and tried to push himself through the tight passage. When he did, he nearly ended up flat on the ground, earning some laughter from the Ocelots who were close by, before heading to their own booth.

By the time the 'Dead Enders' reached their booth, their neighbors – who happened to be –guess who – were carrying blocks of glass around.

"Is that a freaking beacon? They have a freakin' beacon? Freakin' beacon? Freakin' – beacon?", Axel kept repeating to himself in a low tone.

"That's stained glass.", noticed Olivia. "They're not just building a beacon. They are building a _rainbow_ beacon!"

It seemed to be a interesting concept. Lights flashing in the sky changing colours constantly... Picturing this in her mind, that's what concerned her the most.

"We're gonna lose."

"What do you worry about? We got this!", Jesse said.

"Who are we kidding?", Olivia replied, all of the previous confidence withered away. "We got nothing."

"We've got... A mascot!", the other girl said, referring to Reuben who looked between them through his costume.

"Maybe we should stop staring at them."

It didn't take long for the Ocelots to realise who their neighbors were, and immediately took advantage of it.

"Hey, look, it's the Order of the Losers! Again.", the bearded guy, Gill, remarked.

The blue eyed girl, Maya, laughed silently. "Good one, Gill!"

"We're just looking.", Olivia said, glaring at them.

"Well, there will be plenty of time for you all to look at it when we win and it gets shown at EnderCon.", the guy with the green eyes, Aiden, mocked.

"You're being unpleasant.", Axel remarked, but it went unnoticed.

"Well, maybe not all of you. EnderCon doesn't allow outside food or drink."

Reuben squealed at Aiden's words, cowering. Jesse narrowed her eyes. Noone, but noone, calls her best friend food.

"_Shut up_."

"What did you say?"

"Jesse said 'shut up'. Do you need to hear it again?", Olivia said.

Aiden stared at them for a while, unsure of what to respond to this. He came up with a rather lame one.

"I dunno. Maybe."

Lukas who was passing by, prevented the argument from going any further.

"Stop wasting our time, Aiden! We got work to do!", he scolded.

The three grinned at Aiden with satisfaction at his unpleased expression.

"You're lucky I'm busy."

At that moment, a new character enters the scenery.

"Hey, Jesse. Guys.", a gruff but soft, female voice sounded from the crowd.

Jesse turns around to see a girl approaching them. She was rather tall, with red hair, contrasting her turquoise bandana. A black vest covered a light lavender shirt, a glove on her right hand and a sleeve of the same material covered the other hand. She also held a stone pickaxe over her shoulder.

"Hey, Petra!"

"How's the build going?"

"Only time will tell... But we're optimistic.", Axel informed her.

Lukas approached from the other booth. "Hey, I forgot to thank you for that Nether Star earlier."

"Hey, Lukas, not a problem."

Axel frowned. "You helped those tools?"

"For the right price, I will help anyone.", Petra shrugged and made a turn. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"None of us know where to find you!", Olivia called out, as the redhead began walking away.

"Exactly."

Lukas faced the opposing group, smiling sheepishly. "No hard feelings, guys. If you're cool with Petra, you're cool with us.", the blonde declared, in a attempt to make truce with them. "So why don't we forget the rivalry, and you know. Make this about how cool our builds are."

Jesse honestly didn't know how to feel about this. Lukas' gang had been bullying herself and her friends for years, and he just wanted to make peace like that, out of the blue? Not that it was bad, but how honest his intentions were?

"We are going to crush you.", she said, smirking.

Lukas chuckled. "I don't know if you know it, but we're pretty good. Oh. Wait. I get it. It's like a joke, right?"

"No, I'm serious. We're going to destroy you."

"Ha! You're really funny. That's awesome. Good luck.", he said earnestly, returning to his team's booth.

What a jerk.

"Ladies and gentlemen!", the voice of the woman from the sign-ups echoed around the area. "Welcome to this year's Building Competition! The winners' build is going to be featured at EnderCon and they will get to meet, in person, Gabriel the Warrior!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and whistles. Jesse's gang was no exception. Their cheering got interrupted, by the sound of the neighbors shouting their team name.

"OCELOTS! OCELOTS!"

They did what appeared to be their own, distinctive handshake. Fist bumps, high and low fives and other moves.

"Woah. Handshake. We don't have a handshake!", Olivia said, finding another thing that the Ocelots had and they didn't.

"We will just... Make one up.", Jesse said simply. "We will call the... uh... the Builder Bump!"

Their attempt turned out, rather miserable. Fists met wide open palms waiting for a high five, and then it happened a second time. Awkward silence spread through the group momentarily.

"And... Just like that, I'm nervous again.", Olivia muttered.

"Don't worry. Just stick to the plan and everything will be fine.", Jesse tried to reassure her.

Joining hands again, they quietly shouted "Team" again.

"Building. Starts. Now!"

At once, Jesse and her friends, made a tall build, mainly from cobblestone and wood planks, slightly tinted red from the redstone applied. On the top, a dispenser was placed.

From below, a unamused Aiden mocked again. "Ohh, a fireworks dispenser! I'm so scared!"

Jesse frowned at him. "You worry about your build, and we worry about ours."

Descenting from the build, the second phase began. Green of various shades put together, created the shape and looks of a creeper. The three stared down at the other competitors' builds. The Ocelots' beacon was still in progress. Some sort of a lava build... And whatever that thing over there was.

"And now. It's the moment of truth.", Jesse said, and with the team's approval, Olivia switched the lever on.

Small rockets flew upwards in the sky, where they erupted in bright formations of all colours and shapes, their sound and sight attracting the visitors' attention.

"Oh man, that's so cool!", Axel said, his voice low.

"The creeper was the right way to go.", Olivia admitted, now grateful for choosing Axel's idea.

A small crowd of people gathered below the build, gaping in awe.

"Guys, people are looking at us!", Jesse said in a singsong tone. Now that brought a smile on their faces.

"Cool build, man!", one of them exclaimed, cheering along.

Aiden who had stopped building, noticed the commotion going on in the booth next to them, gaped. Not in awe, but in jealousy.

"What? No way... It's just a bunch of dyed wool!", he growled, kicking some dirt and consequently breaking a piece of stone of a lava ditch for waste disposal.

"Oops."

The spreading lava dangerously near Reuben, making contact with his harness. It didn't take long for him to realize what was going on. The poor pig screeched and ran in circles, as the costume began burning. He eventually disappeared in the treeline.

Jesse who was still on top of the build, saw what happened and immediately feared for the worse.

"Reuben! No! Come back here!", she shouted effortlessly.

"It was Aiden! That punk!", Axel narrowed his eyes. Aiden was now backing away from the lava, in fear. Now he realised that letting lava loose wasn't and the best idea.

"The lava is getting closer!"

"It's going to ruin the build!"

"Reuben's going to get lost!", Olivia made her own argument. Sometimes friendship is more important than winning a competition... Even if it's a pig you're talking about.

Jesse wasn't going to lose Reuben like this. If she let that happen, it was like she let Aiden's word get confirmed, that her best friend is food.

"You guys, stay here to save the build!", she said leaping from the wool build and landing on the ground with a roll, pushing Aiden down as she passed.

"On it!", Axel shouted, jumping down and falling flat on the ground.

"We got it covered, Jesse. Be careful.", Olivia completed, landing on Axel, before he even got the chance to stand up.

With cobblestone supplies remaining, they made a wall around the spreading lava, while Jesse ran towards the woods.

* * *

**_End A/N: I hope you enjoyed this 3k long chapter, the longest I've ever written for one chapter. If you see any mistakes, let me know!_**

**_Feedback is always welcomed, I love hearing from you._**

**_See you in Chapter 2!_**


	2. Chapter 2: Some assembly required

**Chapter 2**

By the time Jesse went deep into the woods, the sun had already started to set, the sky now a darkening blue. The only thing one could hear were crickets and the soft wind brushing against the leaves.

Jesse descented a small hill and reached a clearing. "Reuben! Where are you buddy? Just... Give me an oink if you can hear me!", she shouted.

A slope in front of her separated two paths, two paths Reuben could have followed. Jesse picked the one to the right, where smoke could be seen. Proceeding there, the source of it became known. A tree was on fire.

"Reuben must have caused this. The fire doesn't seem like it will spread...", Jesse told herself, watching the tree burn away without causing any forest fire.

She couldn't do else. She had to go on. The forest was very dark at nightfall, the sunlight wasn't visible anymore through the dense treeline and hills. Probably the town was far away by now, and that meant far away from any help if she got lost.

Bushes moving, twigs snapping in half, even pebbles flying a few feet away from where she skidded through made Jesse nearly jump out from her skin. Zombies could appear from out of nowhere at any moment, or creepers could blow up behind her back when she least expected it. Being in constant alert was unnerving.

"Reeuubeeen!", Jesse called for her pig friend once more. Each time she did, she half expected to see Reuben appear from behind some tree and greet her with excited and relieved squeals.

What if he was in a entirely different part of the woods? Maybe he had ran back to the town and she hadn't noticed? Maybe she was looking for him pointlessly and he was...

'_No thinking like that! Reuben is fine and somewhere around here_.', Jesse thought, trying to stay positive.

Jesse heard pig sounds nearby. Could it be Reuben? It was all that easy?

She ran further in, reaching another clearing, she felt hopeful and disappointed at the same time with what she saw. A small herd of pigs was grazing there, completely ignoring the newcomer's presence.

"Reuben? You in there?"

No piglet came pounding. Jesse thoroughly inspected the herd, even looking behind some patches of grass, getting scared half to death by a chicken jumping out from it's hiding spot.

Jesse thought that she saw Reuben between the pigs of the herd.

"Reuben?"

But it wasn't him. Of course. The pink animals stared at her with their crosseyed gazes.

"Not you gu- Pigs. All pigs but Reuben? Shut up!"

Pig tracks littered the ground, and it was impossible to tell which trail was which pig's.

"Stupid pigs.", she muttered.

It was true. All pigs Jesse had ever seen were crosseyed and well... stupid. Not Reuben though. He was different. It wasn't only the dark patch on his back that made him different. It was also Reuben's nature itself.

From the moment the girl had laid eyes on him, she knew that he wasn't like the other pigs. He had that glint in his eyes, that glint that showed intelligence, that he had a mind. He had a opinion, a personality. That's what Jesse loved on Reuben.

That's why he wouldn't let him down. Reuben was her best friend, and friends don't abandon each other in time of need.

Jesse left the clearing and moved further in the forest. She jumped down a short hill. It was getting darker by the minute and unsafer. Between the pig herd, she had temporarily forgot the danger of lurking mobs. Now that she was alone again, the realization dawned on her.

"Reuben? It's getting scary out here...", Jesse called, whispering the last part. It didn't take long to spot more smoke in the air. Just at the next turn, the thing she saw made her heart stop. Axel's costume laying, smoking. And Reuben could still be in it, now in the form of cooked porkchops.

"Reuben? Reuben! You in there buddy?", she exclaimed, running to the site. Kneeling next to the ruined harness, Jesse breathed in to put herself together. "Jeez, please don't be toasted, Reuben."

Agony flooding her, she found the courage to move the harness' wing aside. To her huge relief, there were no floating porkchops in the costume. He was alive.

"Whew."

And 'whew' was an understatement comparing to what she felt that moment. Getting up, she stepped on the costume until it stopped smoking. She hated destroying Axel's hard work, but it was already destroyed beyond repair. With that, Jesse walked away.

A bit further, another crossroad. A shallow river and a dimly-lit cave. In the chilly air of the evening, Jesse wasn't in the mood to freeze, so she went in the cave.

The tunnel seemed to be manmade, long forgotten torches lighting it up. Probably whoever mined this was looking for either coal, or just wanted to get some cobblestone. She couldn't really know.

A hole in the floor of the tunnel drew Jesse's attention. She took a glimpse inside it, quickly regretting it. Eight, red, glowing eyes met hers, a spider. Jesse left a stiffled exclamation upon seeing it. Fortunately for her, the spider seemed to be in no mood of fighting her tonight, so it just disappeared in the depths of the cave.

Taking her time to recover from the scare she just got, Jesse quickly found the exit of the cave. Getting out, the cold air greeted her, giving her some chills.

Just ahead a patch of tall grass was moving, strange, familiar sounds coming from behind. She cautiously stepped towards the source of the noise. Squinting, she looked through the blades of grass.

A chubby, pink mass was curled around itself, shuddering in fear. Jesse immediately recognised it and couldn't help the grin spreading on her face.

"Reuben! There you are!"

Reuben walked towards the girl who petted him gingerly. Both of them were very happy to see each other. They were together again and nothing else mattered.

Jesse finally let go and got up.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

Suddenly Reuben let a loud squeal and trembled again. Jesse followed his line of sight. A few zombies were coming from behind a hill, right for them.

"Reuben, run!"

Jesse made a run for it, her pig not a step behind her. They went in a random direction, the only thing they cared about right now was to get far away from the horde of hostile mobs.

The two stopped in yet another clearing, now in a safe distance. Jesse panted, staring at Reuben. "I think we're good."

She was wrong. A creeper appeared from the tall grasses, doing what it did best, creeping up to people. It's green form dilated, ready to blow itself up.

Jesse half-screamed, escaping from the impending danger. The pig screeched, forever following his friend.

This night wasn't and the best thing they duo had been through. How did you spend your evening? Very well! You know, it's very fun running for your life from a bunch of monsters that try to kill you!

When she thought it was safe, she stopped next to a dirt wall. She was now close to wheezing, placing her hands on her knees. "I think we made it."

Nope!

A arrow flew through the air, getting stuck on the wall, just two inches away from her head. Reuben screeched in alert. It didn't take long for Jesse to spot the attacker. A skeleton was standing on a hill, aiming to get another shot at them.

Before the next shot could get her, Jesse was now running away once again, with Reuben. These monsters were giving her one heart attack after the other.

The earth seemed to shake with the pounding of the duo's feet on the ground. They moved like lightning between trees and dirt mounts, no zombie or creeper able to follow them.

Jesse came to a abrupt halt at the cliff face ahead, Reuben bumping at her legs. Just as she made a turn to find another way, she was faced with a zombie coming their direction.

Probably just one zombie wasn't too hard to fight, right? Jesse pulled out her wooden sword, pointing it at the monster. Always making sure Reuben stayed behind her, she approached it and hit it, making it back away.

"Back! Get back!"

It still kept coming. Zombies can be all that stubborn at times. Nothing can keep them back when they want something very bad. But Jesse could get stubborn too, and if there was something she wanted bad was to get home with her friends safe. It was just a few mobs between her and that goal.

She hit it a second time and then with a skillful stab, finished it off. She turned to check on Reuben. The poor thing was trembling like a leaf in the wind.

"Stay behind me. I got you.", she reassured him before focusing on the monsters coming their way. Her face dropped seeing two more zombies staggering towards them.

It was a matter of good timing to handle fighting two monsters at once, killing them one by one. Just as the second one became nothing more but mist, her sword broke in half and wisped into dust too.

"Stupid wooden swords!", she growled.

All the more mobs were nearing, Reuben was now screeching as him and Jesse backed to the cliff face not far behind them. What now?

"I know it's bad. I'll think of something.", Jesse told him, evaluating possible scenarios in her mind. Only when a spider stepped up between the mob of mobs did she announce her plan. "Alright, Reuben, you'll need to make a run for it, ok? I'll stay here and distract them."

The pig whined, and cowered back, unwilling to leave her alone.

"I'll meet you back in town, I promise. Get out of here! Now!", Jesse yelled.

Reuben ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, screeching loudly. A zombie attempted to hit him, but didn't achieved anything as it was too slow.

Now it was just Jesse versus a bunch of mobs.

She hadn't thought what was she going to do once Reuben left. It was obvious she wouldn't last long out here. She just hoped that Reuben made it to town safe. Maybe if her friends found him, they would understand that something was wrong and would come for her. Even then, by the time any help made it there, the only thing left from her would be her inventory floating on the ground. That is if she didn't make it.

In the world of Minecraft, one can reach extreme limits in order to survive in extreme situations. This was a extreme situation. What do you do, Jesse?

Another threat descented from above. A spider jumped the cliff, landed perfectly in front of her. It hissed jumping on Jesse, knocking her to the ground. It's fangs were dangerously close to her face.

"Gah! _Get - of - me_!", she chocked out, putting all strength she had left to kick the spider away from her. When she did, she immediately jumped on her feet again. The moment she stood firmly, the black creature leaped on the girl, and with a 'kick' made her fall down again.

The spider's glory was short-lived, as a pickaxe stabbed through the back. A dazed Jesse stared at Petra kill the monster, attacking it mercilessly. The redhead then helped her on her feet.

"Come on, let's get out in the open."

* * *

It was a quarter's or so trek from the woods to the two girls' destination, a mine just a few kilometres from the town.

Petra led Jesse down a set of ladders and into a quite spacious cave, lit by many torches. The shorter of the two was now wondering whether the place looked more like a mineshaft or a minor version of a ravine, full of crossroads as it was. It definitely was cool and rough though. It fitted the redhead alright.

The tunnel seemed to go on endlessly. While Petra was like home here, Jesse was looking around in alert of any mob that could come from the dark corners of the cave.

She tried opening a conversation to forget all that happened earlier.

"Not that this isn't a... Really cool, dimly-lit tunnel... But how far away is this thing you wanna show me?"

"Careful, Jesse. You don't want to get a reputation as a wimp.", Petra said amused.

"It's not my first time in a cave, Petra.", Jesse replied, trying to sound confident about her answer.

"Well, have you ever seen...", the taller girl spun around, and pulled a grey, ashy skull out of her inventory. "A _Wither Skull_?"

"Woah!"

"Fresh from the Nether. You're the first person I've shown it to. So you better appreciate this."

"You risked your life for that dusty old skull?"

"No. I risked my life for what I'm going to _exchange_ for that dusty old skull."

"That's insane, Petra!", Jesse exclaimed, the redhead always looking at her with a bland expression. "You could've gotten yourself killed."

"Don't worry so much. I can handle myself.", Petra said, placing the skull back in her inventory. She moved further into the tunnel, Jesse following.

"There's this guy I'm meeting up with at EnderCon. He's going to trade me a diamond for it.", she explained.

"Is that skull worth that much?", Jesse asked curious. All this seemed to weird for her.

"Are you kidding me?", Petra stiffled back a chuckle. "For all the trouble I had to go through to get it, I should be asking for much more."

"Why didn't he just go get it himself?"

"He's... Not that kind of guy who has the time to do something like that."

"What's his deal?"

"He's... Kinda strange, I guess, but hey. Everybody's got their thing."

"And you never thought to ask him '_hey there, what's with your whole, totally normal, not weird at all skull thing_?"

"As long as he's willing to pay. I earned to those diamonds."

After a small pause in their conversation and continuing their walk in the tunnel, Jesse stopped deep in her thoughts.

"Wow.", was all she managed to describe her thoughts.

"'_Wow_' what?", Petra wondered.

"In one day... You went to the Nether.. You killed a wither skeleton... I mean, I _did_ build a super cool statue, but still. It's pretty sweet being you, huh?"

Thinking about it, the redhead voiced her suggestion. "You know... You could come with me. I mean if you're too nervous, I totally get it. But I wouldn't mind a little back-up."

In a attempt to impress her, Jesse said the most Petra like thing she could think of.

"What's... In it for me?"

"Respect. Admiration. Not getting punched in the face for saying that just now."

The last one made the shorter slightly flinch. She wondered if Petra actually meant it, or she was joking.

Eventually the two reached the end of the tunnel after what seemed like forever. In a well lit area were placed a crafting table and a single chest.

"You just keep a crafting table down here?", Jesse asked.

"Comes in handy. Since that wooden sword of yours got busted..."

"You're giving me a new one?", she mused, hope rising in her voice.

"Even better. You can make your own."

Jesse walked over to the chest and kneeled in front of it. She looked over to her for some kind of approval.

"Just take whatever you need."

"Oh. Ok."

Inside the chest were various supplies, wood, lots of cobblestone, and sticks.

"Hey, is all these stuff yours?"

"No, we're just stealing from whoever was dumb enough to leave this here.", Petra said sarcastically. "Of course it's mine."

"Alright, just... Making sure."

She grabbed some ingredients from the stacks and pulled them out.

"Jackpot.", she whispered and headed over to the crafting table.

"Two stone plus one stick equals a sword. Just place the pieces on the table."

Petra inspected Jesse as she placed the materials on the grid of the crafting table. Once placed together, the cobblestone blocks and the stick merged together into a brand new stone sword.

"See? Isn't it better when you make it yourself?", Petra said.

Jesse didn't say anything, but just grinned as she put the sword in her inventory. The two then got out of the tunnel and out of the cave. A bridge connected the mountain Petra's hideout was in with the mainland, bridging the gap over a ravine.

Once outside, they were greeted with a night sky. It wasn't only stars filling it though.

"Check it out, EnderCon's all lit up", Petra said.

Fireworks bursted in the sky, colours everywhere. These were definitely Axel's work. "I can't believe it! We won! Axel was right · everyone loves a creeper.", Jesse said.

Petra gave her a slight smile. "Good for you, Jesse."

"It was about time we beat Lukas and his gang of jerks. What kind of stupid name is the _Ocelots_ anyways?"

"You know...", the redhead started, sounding uncomfortable. "Lukas may be kind of arrogant, but he has come through for me in tricky situations. You might want to get to know him. Just in case."

Jesse got caught by surprise. She knew that Petra was on good terms with Lukas, but she didn't expect that she actually trusted him like that.

"It's always useful to have a guy like him around, no matter what you think of him personally.", she continued.

"You know, you... Might be right.", Jesse said, pondering on it for a few moments.

"I'm just saying, if you run into him at EnderCon, try to talking to him."

"I don't need a lecture on the power of collaboration, Petra.", she said, getting a little fed up with the whole thing.

"How about a lecture on the power of my fists? It's short, but deadly.", Petra said, raising a brow and then a fist to emphasize her words. For a moment, Jesse thought that she was being serious, but she brushed it off quickly as they continued their walk across the bridge.

The fireworks slowly died out, becoming one with the stars in the sky. In the distance, the dome of the Keynote Hall was visible, it's distinct shape easily spotted from far away.

"Remember what EnderCon was like before it was cool?", Petra asked.

"Remember what _we_ were like before _we_ were cool?"

"... Some of us will never be cool."

"Ha-ha."

They were in the middle when things went downhill once again. At the end of the bridge a trio of creepers made an appearance, marching their way towards the girls. Behind them, a few zombies came out of the cave they just exited.

"That doesn't look good.", Petra mused.

Jesse stared from the edge of the bridge, to the bottom of the ravine, momentarily stunned by the height.

"There is only one way off this bridge. Whatever we do, we do it together."

The monsters were coming closer and closer, and time was running out. Once more, mobs were trying to destroy Jesse's night.

"We jump!", Jesse exclaimed as she and Petra ran towards the edge and made a leap into the air. Right at that moment, a creeper that had gotten dangerously close, fused up and exploded, making the bridge get blasted into thousands of pieces.

The scene started to turn into slow motion as Jesse and Petra fell into the river into the ravine, more creepers exploding above them.

_TellTale Games presents..._

_In association with Mojang..._

Chaos ensues as mobs rained down from above, not far from the two girls. They were spread flat through the air, closer to the surface of the water by the second.

**_Minecraft: Story Mode_**

Jesse strucks a cool expression, playing it tough while in the air, wanting to get some kind of impression from the redhead. She got a surprised and scared expression instead, focused behind her. Turning around in the air confused, she was met with a expanding creeper and gasping too, she sent it away with a punch.

The green creature got launched away to the walls of the ravine, towards a ledge where a group of chickens were perching. When the creeper exploded, part of the wall got destroyed, and chickens flew around, creating a mess of feathers floating in the air.

Now just a good ten feet from the river, a flock of bats blocked Jesse and Petra's way, the latter batting one of the away, while falling by.

The calm surface, under which squids roamed, got disturbed as the two girls made contact with it, screaming. The one dived and the other belly flopped on it.

"_Burns, it burns_!", Jesse whined, emerging.

"Don't you know? You're diving into the water, you don't land on top of it! Now pull yourself together and follow me.", Petra said, looking back to her and then swimming towards the shore.

Jesse went after her. This night was far from over.

* * *

**_A/N: Well, that was another chapter. When I started writing this chapter, I thought it was going to be shorter than the previous one, but eventually ended up a good 3k words too._**

**_Let me know if you see any mistakes in dialogue or event sequence anywhere._**

**_Chapter 3 might take a while, because it's sooo long. Get ready for a hell of a ride!_**


End file.
